MAD Challengeshttps://madchallenges.org
Wild Events for Good ReasonsTue, 18 Dec 2018 23:39:13 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=5.0.1137848553A response to climate doom and gloomhttps://madchallenges.org/a-response-to-climate-doom-and-gloom/
https://madchallenges.org/a-response-to-climate-doom-and-gloom/#respondSun, 14 Oct 2018 20:20:22 +0000https://madchallenges.org/?p=701A major new report was recently released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, documenting the severe potential impacts of even a small additional amount of global warming. While we are not fans of doom and gloom messaging – in fact, we created MAD Challenges specifically to provide a more positive and empowering narrative – this report has hit us [...]

Floods in South Yorkshire in 2007. Severe flooding, especially in coastal areas, is expected to increase significantly with just moderate amounts of additional global warming, due to heavier rainfall and rising seas.

A major new report was recently released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, documenting the severe potential impacts of even a small additional amount of global warming.

While we are not fans of doom and gloom messaging – in fact, we created MAD Challenges specifically to provide a more positive and empowering narrative – this report has hit us hard. We’re sure that many of you feel the same.

So we wanted to reflect on the implications of these potential impacts. Not to spread feelings of guilt or fear. But because they’re real, and they will profoundly shape the future we live in.

Change is inevitable

A main message of the report is that preventing even just a small additional amount of global warming – the difference between 1.5 and 2.0 degrees C – is crucial if we want to avoid long-lasting or irreversible change to unique and threatened ecosystems around the world – including coral reefs, fisheries, forests and the Arctic.

Preventing this small additional warming will also make a big difference in many other important ways, including extreme weather events, severe impacts to poor and vulnerable groups, and the risk of crossing major tipping points, like the collapse of the Greenland ice sheet.

Added to this, the bigger picture is that climate change is just one strand of interconnected environmental threats. There’s also rising ocean plastics, severe rates of biodiversity loss, soil degradation and more. Some aspects of nature are improving but overall, as a society, we produce more waste and exploit more resources than the planet has capacity to deal with – 3x as much, for the average person in the UK.

Then there are a whole raft of social and economic issues. Poverty, hunger, inequalities, migration, national security, political instability – these are all connected with each other and to the environment. This means you can’t address any single one without it having an impact on the others.

Change isn’t just coming, it’s already happening – and it will only accelerate as populations grow and we become more globalised.

But take a look at the other side of the coin

Because all of these problems are joined-up, the solutions are too. The report acknowledges this by concluding that taking actions which address multiple issues – ones that benefit wider environmental, social and economic outcomes at the same time – is the most effective approach to tackling climate change.

Seen in this way, the complexity of the problems we face suddenly requires us to approach climate change as an opportunity to deliver much wider success. This is a dramatically different story to what we’re used to hearing: that dealing with climate change will require us to hold back on development and individual sacrifice.

Of course some compromises will be inevitable, but the opportunity is that we can choose to take actions that make sense for ourselves and society, regardless of the CO2 emissions they also save.

For us, this need for joined-up solutions carries two important implications:

We need a greater variety – of voices being heard and of people working towards common goals. More variety means that more innovative, fair and joined-up solutions will emerge.

We need to be clearer on what we value – everypotential solution carries pros and cons, so we need be clear on what it is we care about most, then prioritise accordingly.

In other words, climate change is an opportunity for a stronger democracy and for collective action that connects more widely to what people care about.

The power of people

The report also concludes that governments can’t do this alone – we need the power of people to support ambitious government action and to drive ground-up changes in energy use and patterns of consumption. This underscores the need for collective action.

We would add that respecting and encouraging a diversity of personal, professional and political views is fundamental to this, as it allows climate change to become a non-partisan issue and enables the variety of solutions we need.

And that’s our hope for MAD Challenges: that despite what impacts climate change may bring, by encouraging people to connect with each other and realise their potential for collective action, we can help to shape a future that delivers more for both people and planet.

]]>https://madchallenges.org/a-response-to-climate-doom-and-gloom/feed/0701Making Ming Runhttps://madchallenges.org/making-ming-run/
https://madchallenges.org/making-ming-run/#respondThu, 24 May 2018 17:03:27 +0000https://madchallenges.org/?p=693It started from a humble bet between two best friends. If one of them ran a half marathon the other would reduce their meat consumption. Fast-forward some time and at the end of May I will be running my first ever half marathon. Let me be clear, I am not a runner and I do not particularly love running. But [...]

It started from a humble bet between two best friends. If one of them ran a half marathon the other would reduce their meat consumption. Fast-forward some time and at the end of May I will be running my first ever half marathon. Let me be clear, I am not a runner and I do not particularly love running. But what I do love is a good bet with a sprinkling of sustainability. My friend, Chris, he loves meat which what makes this bet so great. I myself have significantly reduced my meat intake after learning the how energy and resource intensive meat production is. But let’s get back to talking about running. In September I was sporadically running when the weather in Edinburgh was good, so hardly ever. But when a university course of mine asked us to do a sustainability challenge I thought I would bite the bullet and make it about this bet I made with my best friend. That is how I created ‘Make Ming Run’, I thought why not make this bet public and ask other people to pledge/bet to doing a sustainable action and in return I would run a half marathon? Using the Do Nation website it was great to see many of my friends pledge to sustainable actions ranging from boiling water more efficiently to one family switching their energy company to a renewable one! Now with all of these pledges the bet has gotten a whole lot more serious! So while I definitely don’t feel like I have trained nearly enough for this race, I am driven to at least given my all, that is the least I can do when dozens of pledges have been made to reduce our carbon emissions.

Now I am by no means asking everyone to now become a runner or to cut down their meat intake (though if it tickles your fancy why not give it a try). Nor do I think that we as individuals should fully bear the weight of fixing all of the world’s socio-environmental problems. But what I do think is that everyone has the opportunity to challenge themselves to do something sustainable. Think about what you do now and what could be better for you and sustainability. But don’t do it for the sake of doing it, do it because you want to. And if you need the support of friends, family or the random person that waves to you while you are running, use it! Right, I better go on a run now.

]]>https://madchallenges.org/making-ming-run/feed/0693Human Waste… Literally: Some Thoughts on Eco-Friendly & Reusable Nappieshttps://madchallenges.org/human-waste-literally-some-thoughts-on-eco-friendly-reusable-nappies/
https://madchallenges.org/human-waste-literally-some-thoughts-on-eco-friendly-reusable-nappies/#respondThu, 26 Apr 2018 17:22:36 +0000https://madchallenges.org/?p=661For this week’s #My_Handprint, we hear from two different parents on how they are trying to consider the environment in their use of nappies. Eilidh uses eco-friendly nappies, while Rosie has chosen reusable nappies. We value keeping the conversation around sustainability as real as possible. What are some eco-friendly practices you can employ in every day life? What sustainable action [...]

]]>For this week’s #My_Handprint, we hear from two different parents on how they are trying to consider the environment in their use of nappies. Eilidh uses eco-friendly nappies, while Rosie has chosen reusable nappies. We value keeping the conversation around sustainability as real as possible. What are some eco-friendly practices you can employ in every day life? What sustainable action is simply too inconvenient for your life? What things can you do that are beneficial both to you and the earth? Through hearing from two different perspectives on the same topic, we take a look at how different people are thinking through these questions

Eco-Friendly Nappies

by Eilidh Goudie

Did you know that the average disposable nappy takes 300-500 years to biodegrade? And that nappies are the third largest contributor to landfill, despite the fact that only 5% of the population use them?

Before we had our son, we didn’t have much experience of babies, and we certainly had no idea quite how many nappies they can power through in 24 hours! Our nappy bin seemed to be constantly filling up, and our guilt over the environmental impact kept rising along with it. But in the midst of the sleep depravation and chaos of being a new parent, the idea of hunting out an alternative seemed pretty daunting.

However, we soon discovered that there are loads of great options for more environmentally-friendly choices, which was a huge relief. We considered reusable nappies, but after weighing up the idea of using our washing machine even more than we were already, coupled with our lack of space, we decided that wasn’t going to work for us, at least not for Baby Number One! (Maybe we’ll feel less daunted at the prospect with our next one…)

We’ve been using Kit & Kin eco-friendly disposable nappies and wipes for several months now, which biodegrade within 3-5 years and are sustainably produced. What’s more, the company (started by Spice Girl Emma Bunton last year) work in partnership with the Woodlands Trust and fund the purchase and protection of 1 acre of rainforest for every 10 nappy subscriptions. So while we now pay a little more than the price of normal disposable nappies in the supermarkets, the effects this choice has on our environmental impact are huge.

We would really encourage anyone thinking about making the switch to eco-friendly disposable nappies or trying out reusable nappies to just go for it! It’s easier now than ever before to reduce our collective waste and safeguard the world for our children, without compromising on quality or breaking the bank!

An Exhausted Parents’ Guide to Reusable Nappies

by Rosie Sim

I am an exhausted parent and I hate housework. I would happily have a house filled with piles of clothes, toys everywhere, dishes in the sink if it meant I didn’t have to do anything about them and could spend more time on things I do want to do… like rolling about on the floor with my infant son, or you know, take a nap! However, as well as being exhausted, time poor and despising all forms of housework, I am also extremely concerned about the environment and the future world we are leaving to our children. One aspect in particular is disposable nappies. It is no secret that babies go through a lot of nappies a day. A newborn can go through around 10-12 nappies a day. The average child goes through around 4000 nappiesbefore they are potty-trained. Each year, 8 million nappiesare sent to landfill in the UK. They take around 500 years to decompose, probably more. And when they do finally decompose they leach chemicals including known carninogens, endocrine-disruptors and human waste products (think methane– twice as bad as co2 for global warming) in to the environment. While pregnant and my bump growing ominously larger every day we discussed it, did some research and decided to give reusable nappies a go.

Although we were determined I was wary and didn’t think we could make it work. I knew that disposable nappies were terrible for the environment. However, I knew little about babies in general, nevermind reusable cloth nappies and expected it to be A LOT of work. I imagined having to scrape poo into the toilet, having to soak and scrub the stains out. I imagined they would leak constantly and that I would have to change the baby hundreds of times a day. I had assumed that disposable nappies were therefore the more convenient and easier option as simply went straight in the bin. However, I could not have been more wrong.

In all honesty, the hardest part of using cloth nappies is knowing where to start and finding the right fit for you and your baby. Cloth nappies have come a long way from the terry-towelling that was widely used before disposables came on the market. There are now hundreds of options for styles, shape, fit and materials. Once you have found the right combination of nappy, boosters and wraps cloth nappies are easily the more absorbent and convenient option. Here is a quick summary of the 3 main benefits of using cloth nappies:

Money-Saving: According to this article, disposables can cost around £400 a year for nappies alone (not including wipes, nappy bags costing an estimated £150 per year). If your baby is potty-trained at 2.5 years, that’s a cost of £1450 per child. In contrast we have spent a total of £465 on 25 birth-to-potty nappies, 6 boosters, 3 outer wraps, 1 nappy bin, 2 laundry bags, full set of reusable wipes, and 3 reusable nappy bags. We can use this set for multiple children and once we are done with them I plan on selling them through UsedNappy.co.uk. We could have saved even more money if we had bought second-hand nappies in the first place, or cheaper brands. At the time however I was simply too overwhelmed and buying a new complete starter kit with everything we needed was the quickest and easiest option.

Less Housework: You never have to empty the nappy bin! When I was using disposable nappies, the bin had to be emptied every day and the smell was nasty. With reusables the poo is immediately flushed down the toilet so there are no lingering smells, and you only have to do a load of washing every 2-3 days. Because our cloth nappies are now so well padded they are literally bomb-proof. I very rarely have to do full outfit changes, and the amount of general washing is a lot less than it was with disposables.

Health: Reusables are less likely to cause nappy rash or allergic reaction. There is a very long list of chemicals that go into disposable nappies. Dioxins, Sodium Polyacrylate, Tributyl-tin (TBT), Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), various dyes, fragrances, petrolatums, glues used in the sticky tab, just to name a few. These are against the baby’s privates all day and night in a warm environment. In contrast, cloth nappies are made of breathable materials and are naturally antibacterial so don’t require any harsh chemicals or perfumes. We have had no issues with nappy rash at all, and we change his nappy on average every 2-3 hours during the day, and immediately after a poo (the same as is recommended with disposable nappies). If using booster pads, cloth nappies can last up to 4 hours between changes.

Now that I’ve gone through the benefits of cloth nappies, here is a few tips on getting started. If I had known the following at the beginning of our journey into cloth nappies, I would have saved myself a lot of time, effort and money.

Contact your local nappy library! Nappy Libraries have been popping up everywhere and are an amazing resource. These allow you to try different brands before you buy. I used the Fife Real Nappy Libraryand was seriously impressed. Someone came to the house, gave a personal demonstration and left us with everything we needed. We were able to try all of the mainstream brands, as well as some of the smaller companies. Through this we decided to go with Bambino Mio Miosolos nappies and I’m still really happy with this choice. However, everyone is different and one brand of nappies might suit some but not others which is why I strongly recommend using this service if there is one in your area.

Join a cloth nappy support group on Facebook. I joined Cloth Nappies UKon Facebook after I had already done weeks/months of research. If I had simply joined a group from the start I would have saved a lot of time, effort and money. It was here that I was given the genius tip of adding hemp booster pads and waterproof outer layer to stop night time leaks.

Shop around before you buy. Check whether it is cheaper to buy directly from the seller, from a local supermarket or on Amazon. Lots of nappy companies also do special sales such as on Real Nappy Week, Black Friday events etc.

Check to see if your local council has an incentive scheme for switching to cloth nappies. If they don’t, ask them to start one.

Being a new parent is HARD and there is already too much pressure as it is. In my opinion, it takes a village to raise a child, and at least 3 pairs of hands to care for a newborn. Using cloth nappies won’t make it harder, will be easier in the long-run but takes time to get started. If you are in the midst of new-parenthood and can’t see through the fog, then biodegradable nappies are a good alternative. However, not all biodegradable nappies are created equal in terms of the eco-friendly credentials. If you feel up to the challenge, once you’re out of the fog that is new Parenthood, give cloth nappies a chance, it really is the best possible decision on all fronts.

For more information, I can suggest the following websites to help guide you through the amazing world of Cloth Nappies:

]]>https://madchallenges.org/human-waste-literally-some-thoughts-on-eco-friendly-reusable-nappies/feed/0661Meet Chaz Powell: The man who walked Africa’s wildest rivers from source to sea in the battle against wildlife crimehttps://madchallenges.org/meet-chaz-powell-man-walked-africas-wildest-rivers-source-sea-battle-wildlife-crime/
https://madchallenges.org/meet-chaz-powell-man-walked-africas-wildest-rivers-source-sea-battle-wildlife-crime/#respondFri, 16 Mar 2018 15:21:30 +0000https://madchallenges.org/?p=576Meet Chaz Powell, the man behind The Wildest Journey. After travelling the world on and off for eight years, he decided to combine his passion for the outdoors and travel and become an expedition leader and has lead expeditions in Zambia and Botswana. From August 2016 to September 2017 he hiked along the Zambezi River from its source to the [...]

After travelling the world on and off for eight years, he decided to combine his passion for the outdoors and travel and become an expedition leader and has lead expeditions in Zambia and Botswana. From August 2016 to September 2017 he hiked along the Zambezi River from its source to the Indian Ocean -a 3000 km journey that took 137 days by foot, joining the battle against wild life crime. We’ve asked him about his adventures and to share his thoughts on sustainability. Read on!

Why are you an expedition leader?

From The Wildest Journey Instagram: “2 stone lighter at this point, but feeling strong and confident! I was about to tackle the Zambezi gorges and by far the toughest section of my walk!”

I became an expedition leader after years of travelling the world not really thinking about any kind of career path. All I wanted to do was travel the world, and the more I travelled the wilder my adventures became. I had a passion for the outdoors and exploring, so coming back to the UK after 8 years of on and off travel, I decided to train as a mountain leader and start teaching bushcraft and survival. In 2015 I passed my Mountain Leader Award and began my dream career as an expedition leader. What a job, right?

I get to lead people through some of the most amazing places in the world, inspiring them to live an adventurous life and passing on the knowledge I have built up from my many years of remote expeditions.

What journeys have you made and what’s next?

I’ve travelled all over the world, wild backpacking through many different countries in Southeast Asia, working holidays in Australia and New Zealand, overlanding across Africa.

I’ve spent the past few years getting more and more adventurous and have pursued my love of long distance hiking: I’ve trekked many of the UK national trails, walking the length of the world’s steepest island (La Palma in the Canaries), and hitch hiked and walked to the Northernmost point of mainland Europe on a £100 budget. Most recently I took on my biggest challenge to date and walked the length of the mighty Zambezi river from source to sea, a 3000 km 137 day journey that pushed both my physical and mental limits.

On your journeys, what have you learned about climate change and conservation?

From The Wildest Journey instagram: “Many times I was told that its not possible for me to walk the Zambezi, especially during the months I had chosen to walk. But I managed to walk over 2000 km in that heat and those conditions, and I only stopped in the end due to security reasons. I’m a huge believer that it’s possible to do anything you put your mind to”

During my Zambezi adventure I learned a great deal about wildlife conservation and saw first-hand the problems that are occurring along the rivers banks. I walked passed poached elephants and saw dead animals. I brushed shoulders with countless amounts of conservationists, poachers, traders and trophy hunters. It’s a strange mixture of people to have met.

The poachers are normally uneducated on the problem they are creating, and often are poor people employed by rich and greedy people. The conservationists do an incredible job to educate people and tackling the problem.

The strangest example of conservation and anti poaching I’ve seen is the effort funded by by trophy hunters, specifically in Mozambique. But they seem to do an incredible job of increasing wildlife numbers and stopping the illicit trade if ivory and horns. I am completely against any form of animal cruelty or destruction, but trophy hunting it’s a difficult topic to approach as they seem to be fighting the ongoing poaching battle. (For more information watch this documentary or read this article.)

What does sustainability mean to you and your daily life?

From The Wildest Journey instagram: “Camping along the river was often the only option! And with nowhere to buy fuel for cooking! Building a fire was my only way to survive!”

Sustainability is something I am hugely passionate about. The thought of the possible extinction of many endangered wildlife species throughout the world is a massive concern and something I feel dedicated to act on. I try to raise as much vital awareness through my many “wildest journeys” as possible. There is a loss of wildlife habitat due to human need for deforestation and land encroachment for agriculture and homes and villages for the ever growing population. That means wildlife is getting pushed into smaller and smaller pockets of land. It just isn’t big enough for them to live a free and wild life. Animals are losing control of their migrationary routes and coming into contact and conflict with humans more and more. Also the illegal elephant ivory and rhino horn trade is an ongoing battle and the more wildlife numbers decrease, the higher the value is placed onto ivory and horns, and thus the more threatening this devastating industry becomes.

It’s so important we all start taking this as seriously as possible, otherwise we will only be reading about these animals in the pages of history books. It really does make me extremely frustrated and sad.

From The Wildest Journey instagram: “Escaping the heat… One of the biggest challenges I faced during my trek, was the fact I chose to walk during the hottest time of the year. In Sub Saharan Africa from September until December, temperatures can often reach 50°C. I chose to walk during these months because I wanted to get access through the Barotse floodplains when they were at their lowest level (I was still wading through swamps even then). Any other months along the Barotse floodplains it is completely underwater and not accessible. I knew that this was a dangerous decision and it nearly cost me my life on more than one occasion… Finding shade in the open plains was often a struggle, and any opportunities to seek that shade were greatly met.”

]]>https://madchallenges.org/meet-chaz-powell-man-walked-africas-wildest-rivers-source-sea-battle-wildlife-crime/feed/0576A Sustainable Swiss Weddinghttps://madchallenges.org/sustainable-swiss-wedding/
https://madchallenges.org/sustainable-swiss-wedding/#commentsThu, 08 Mar 2018 13:31:05 +0000https://madchallenges.org/?p=565by Amelia Masters To be frank, I wasn’t really trying to throw a sustainable wedding. I was trying to throw a cheap wedding and a beautiful wedding. But hey, there’s an encouraging lesson: when I combined cheap and beautiful, I ended up with sustainable. Sounds good to me! First, some context: Christian and I met about 5 years ago. How [...]

To be frank, I wasn’t really trying to throw a sustainable wedding. I was trying to throw a cheap wedding and a beautiful wedding. But hey, there’s an encouraging lesson: when I combined cheap and beautiful, I ended up with sustainable. Sounds good to me!

First, some context: Christian and I met about 5 years ago. How we met is a much longer story that involves enchiladas, dancing at a senior citizen community hall, fake rain, pants puns, and “the fart that stole my heart”. How he proposed is also a long story that involves leather chaps, self-tanner, a wig, fake tattoos, and a motorcycle. Doubtless, you learned nothing from that except that we’re unconventional and a little quirky. Our wedding followed suit.

I’m from Chattanooga, Tennessee. In the South, you throw big weddings. You hire a wedding planner. You invite your parent’s friends, and your parent’s friend’s friends, and all the cousins and aunties you met fifteen years ago at that one family reunion. You have lots of different parties before your wedding and make lots of lists and try not to break up with your fiance in the midst of it all. You go to cake tastings and wedding dress fittings and a few melt-downs later, you look around and you’re at your wedding you spent a year planning, a little tipsy, sitting in your chair, trying not to get food on your dress that you don’t really have time to eat because of all the people talking to you, trying to fit sincere well wishes into thirty second interactions. I admire the ones who can do this with grace. I cannot.

I did not want a big wedding. I wanted a small communal feast. I wanted to look out from our place at the altar and recognize every single face we were making our sacred vows in front of. I wanted everyone there to already know each other and know our story. I wanted to eat good food with great friends, a slow and intimate evening filled with music-playing, strong wine, and inappropriate toasts. I like imagining explaining that to a wedding planner. So now that you know a little bit more about us and what we were going for, here’s how it turned into something cheap, beautiful, and sustainable:

Ellen & Andy Photography

1. Paper Invites vs. Digital

Bridal shower invites, Save the Dates, Rehearsal Dinner Invites, Wedding invitations, RSVP cards and all of the envelopes. No, thank you. I did not want to deal with all that addressing and all that paper.

We re-designed a vintage Geneva postcard to include our names, wedding details, and the website (withjoy.com) with ALL of the other information. We bought cute stamps, and because it was a postcard, didn’t even have to worry about envelopes, and sent out ONE wedding invite.

Sure, this isn’t traditional. But Christian and I decided tradition, in this case, was wasteful and unnecessarily time consuming, so we did it our own way. The result? Less paper waste and less time wasted for us.

2. A Small Wedding

Elllen & Andy Photography

The easiest way to throw a small wedding? A destination wedding. Conveniently, Christian’s family has lived in Geneva, Switzerland for 10 years, so choosing his backyard as the venue was an easy decision. Our wedding ended up being 34 people total. Because we were dealing with a smaller number, we didn’t have to sacrifice sustainability for convenience (think plastic plates and disposable cutlery) and we didn’t generate the same waste that large parties tend to.

3. The Dress

Ellen & Andy Photography

I needed two things: a dress that could fit in carry-on luggage and a dress that I could afford. Oh, and a dress that made me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world, but that seemed a little far fetched considering the first two priorities. NOT SO, my friends. I found a boutique in Nashville called LVD with an incredibly sensible business model. They sell the sample dresses from other bridal stores at a discounted rate, and if you sell your dress back to them, you keep 50% of what it retails for.

Considering 7 kg of CO2 are released for every kg of cotton produced and it takes up to 2,720 litres of water to produce one cotton t-shirt (about the amount of water that an average person drinks over 3 years), buying second-hand sounds like a deal to me! Especially for something like a wedding dress that is only worn ONCE.

Fun fact- my dress is the only thing on me that I spent money on. My earrings were left behind by a guest at the B&B I used to work at (and she didn’t want them back), my shoes are they same ones I wore to my junior prom in highschool, and my necklace was my grandmother’s engagement diamond.

4. One location

Ellen & Andy Photography

We had it all in one location so nobody had to drive and we didn’t have to worry about logistics. And by “we had it all” we mean the ceremony, the reception, and where everybody stayed. We borrowed and put mattresses down on any floor space we could fit them so that all our friends would have free lodging at Christian’s house the week leading up to wedding and we’d all be in one place. That’s why we ended up calling it #weddingcamp

5. Eat, Drink, and Buy Local

Ellen & Andy Photography

I think one of my favorite aspects of our wedding was how the food and wine reflected the place we were. The wine was from a vineyard 5 minutes away from Christian’s house and they said if we bought a bottle per person, we could have our rehearsal dinner in their beautiful old wine cellar for free! Well, since that meant we only had to buy 34 bottles for our small wedding, then we had delicious local wine and a rehearsal dinner venue for a reasonable rate!

We bought our steak from a neighboring farm and the groomsmen grilled it at the reception!

And all the flowers were bought from a local florist in France. You know, because wedding planning isn’t difficult enough, so I wanted to make sure I had to also describe what flowers I wanted in my sub-par french.

6. Don’t Buy, Borrow!

Ellen & Andy Photography

Tables & Benches- borrowed from Christian’s parent’s church

Rugs and chairs – borrowed

7. And what you can’t borrow, make!

Ellen & Andy Photography

The arbor over the altar? Yeah, christian made that out of sticks in the backyard. We called it his “stick fort.”

8. Glasses and Plates

Ellen & Andy Photography

I didn’t want to pay the outrageous prices for renting dinnerware for one night, but I also didn’t want to go disposable because it’s not beautiful. So, I asked Christian’s mom to start asking friends if she could barrow plates, looking at the charity shops for what she couldn’t borrow, and to save every glass jar she went through six months before the wedding. And because she is the mother of a very large family, she over-delivered. She saved so many jars, we didn’t have to buy or rent wine glasses, water glasses, ice-cream bowls, vases, or candle holders. It was all recycled.

9. Napkins and Table Clothes

Ellen & Andy Photography

To avoid paying for 34 cloth napkins I would use once, I went to the charity shop, bought a king sized sheet, and cut it up into 34 pieces. The table runners are lace curtains and also from the charity shop.

I’m not claiming our wedding as the golden standard of sustainability. People had to fly on planes that use jet fuel to get there and we still had a lot of trash at the end of the night. But I am claiming that there are cheaper, more sustainable, and (in my opinion) more beautiful ways to throw a wedding than the wedding industry encourages. It took a bit more thought and a bit more problem solving, but at the end of night, as I sat in my chair a little tipsy from drinking local wine out of my mother in-law’s old mayonnaise jar, married to the dude I love, listening to our friends play us music and roast us, I knew we had done something right.

]]>https://madchallenges.org/sustainable-swiss-wedding/feed/4565Freezer: Tinder for Edinburgh’s Snow-peoplehttps://madchallenges.org/tinderforsnowmen/
https://madchallenges.org/tinderforsnowmen/#respondSat, 03 Mar 2018 14:26:25 +0000https://madchallenges.org/?p=392by Amelia Masters With days growing a bit longer now that we’ve landed on the other side of the Winter Solstice, I downloaded an app called Couch Potato to 5K to try and get myself back up and running after this long dark winter (you can never start training too early for Mad Seat). And with the usual irony [...]

With days growing a bit longer now that we’ve landed on the other side of the Winter Solstice, I downloaded an app called Couch Potato to 5K to try and get myself back up and running after this long dark winter (you can never start training too early for Mad Seat). And with the usual irony of life decisions, I downloaded the app a week before The Beast from the East and Storm Emma had their party all over the UK, leaving us all cold, wet, and buzzing with the collective effervescence of a country-wide “Snow Day.”

Determined to keep my running streak up even in the blizzard conditions, and very much expecting to be the only one out and about, I set off for a jog along the Union Canal. I was wrong. I think all of Edinburgh was out, and they were all building snowmen (and snowwomen and snowchildren). After running past two parks littered with all manner of snowpeople, I ran back to my flat to grab my camera- there were just too many portraits waiting to be taken.

Since I handle a lot of the social media over here at Mad Challenges, I tried think of a way to tie in an environmental message. Maybe “What do Snowmen and Icebergs have in Common? THEY’RE BOTH MELTING.” Nah, too aggressive. Or maybe funny fake interviews with the snowmen for our #MyHandprintMC campaign, in which they discuss ways they are pursuing sustainability in their everyday lives by choosing to be made out of 100% recyclable, biodegradable materials and leaving no carbon footprint because of their lack of feet. Nah, I didn’t have enough puns to interview them all.
So that’s how we landed here- tinder for the snow people of edinburgh. Enjoy

]]>https://madchallenges.org/tinderforsnowmen/feed/0392Dave Goes Veganhttps://madchallenges.org/dave-goes-vegan/
https://madchallenges.org/dave-goes-vegan/#respondFri, 09 Feb 2018 14:53:24 +0000https://madchallenges.org/?p=381 Cheese, as far as I can tell, is entirely irreplaceable. And meat, of course, is amazing. But too much or either has its downsides. I’ve always tried to steer towards a healthy eating, but my ‘ideal diet’ is thwarted by a lack of self control. Strict ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ are somehow just not as appealing as a burger [...]

The result: I didn’t hate it. In fact, I really enjoyed most of it! But not all.

Removing meat was easy. Freedom from dairy, not so much. It turns out that milk (be it cheese, butter, lactose or whey) is everywhere. Luckily, there is an upside to dietary rules: they encourage exploration and creativity. So when I did break through through the milk mindset, it led to many yummy new things…

The foods I enjoy the most – Asian, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and Mexican – are pretty good mates with plant-based ingredients, so I happily obliged by eating more of them. But the best bit was finding completely new dishes, not just meals minus animal. Now I’ve tried it and seen how easy it is to make, I’m not sure how I ever managed without Skillet Beer Chili Mac – from the very awesome Thug Kitchen. So. Damn. Good.

So achieving a tasty vegan diet was certainly not an issue.

I also saved money, lost a notable amount of weight and gained muscle! But this coincided with me going back to the gym…. And the weight loss started to reverse as soon as I discovered all the delicious junk foods that happen to be vegan, some of which were also painfully expensive (looking at you, £6-a-tub Booja Booja ice cream…)

But what I did find an issue was having to think about what to cook when you really can’t be bothered (easy veganing takes experience and planning), and the genuinely awful choice of anything meat free – let alone actually vegan – when you’re out and about.

This leads to the top of my list of dislikes: the inescapable fact that ‘animal’ is delicious. And I don’t want to lose it from my diet. So this is where I struggle…

Working in the field of sustainable development, I’m very aware that food production and distribution have consequences for people and the environment that are deeply intertwined. The challenges of health, hunger, poverty, pollution, water, energy and climate change all meet, and so often compete, when it comes to food. I’m also aware that – onaverage – vegan (and vegetarian) diets carry the lowest negative environmental impacts, and that our diets will have to shift if we want to secure a future that can balance these challenges.

So there feels like a real conflict between what I want and what I believe. I want to keep eating meat and cheese, because they make me happy and it’s annoyingly inconvenient to avoid them in many situations. Yet I believe in playing my part in reducing the unsustainability of how the world currently works. Food choice is, after all, one of the biggest ways we can make a difference on an individual level, particularly when it comes to your carbon footprint.

Ignoring this conflict, or downplaying one side, is clearly not going to work for me. So I’ve decided to take a pragmatic approach, and focus on what I can gain, instead of what I should avoid. I want a healthier diet, with more diversity, and that supports a better relationship with nature. I also want the freedom to eat the foods that I enjoy.

So I now pack vegan lunches for work (cheap, easy and delicious, when you figure out what you like), eat mostly vegetarian for the rest of the time, and eat meat when it looks amazing. And, 6 months later, this works very nicely for me – I feel my mindset has genuinely shifted towards what I feel is a better diet.

But what I feel is most important is to aim for something that is sustainable for me. That means aiming for consistency, not perfection – because sticking to strict rules isn’t my idea of fun, and has never worked for me in the past. Besides, what else am I meant to do with the creme eggs that have mysteriously managed to find their way into my lunch routine?

]]>https://madchallenges.org/dave-goes-vegan/feed/03815 Days of Christmashttps://madchallenges.org/5-days-christmas/
https://madchallenges.org/5-days-christmas/#respondThu, 21 Dec 2017 19:00:33 +0000https://madchallenges.org/?p=298Here at MAD Challenges we’re dreaming of a green Christmas, and we want to help you do the same! 🎄 Check out our sustainable gift ideas in the run up to the big day 🎅🏼 Day 1: just in CASE you need a good idea… Pelacase do eco-friendly phone cases that can be composted when you’re finished with them! [...]

]]>Here at MAD Challenges we’re dreaming of a green Christmas, and we want to help you do the same! Check out our sustainable gift ideas in the run up to the big day

Day 1: just in CASE you need a good idea… Pelacase do eco-friendly phone cases that can be composted when you’re finished with them! We like their Save the Waves collection where they donate $5 from each case to help protect coastal ecosystems

Day 2: BRACE yourself… 4ocean bracelets contribute to cleaning the ocean! Each bracelet is made from 100% recycled materials and funds the removal of 1 pound of rubbish from the ocean Our favourite is their bright green Earth Day bracelet

Day 3: What do you get if you cross a sheep with a kangaroo? Rapanui is a sustainable fashion company from the Isle of Wight, using renewable energy to manufacture their clothes and high sustainability criteria for their supply chain. You can also send old products back to them for store credit, which is really cool!

Day 4: Chestnuts roasting on an open fire Green Tulip UK specialise in ethical gifts, we love their candles for Christmas presents! Made in the UK with clean burning plant wax, they have a 45 hour burn time and come in recycled glass pots with minimalist packaging

Day 5: Rockin’ around the Christmas tree Little Difference plant, raise and protect a tree for every card you buy! They’re printed in the UK on recycled paper and help towards reforestation in Africa, as well as providing jobs for locals- they’ve planted 35,000 trees so far

Merry Christmas from the MAD Challenges team! We’ve loved getting to meet you all this year at our events and wish you all a great festive season. We’ll be back in the New Year after a mince pie fuelled break but until then, we hope you’re dreaming of a green Christmas and have been inspired by our 5 Days of Christmas series!

]]>https://madchallenges.org/5-days-christmas/feed/0298It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Yearhttps://madchallenges.org/itsthemostwonderfultime/
https://madchallenges.org/itsthemostwonderfultime/#respondThu, 16 Nov 2017 21:57:43 +0000https://madchallenges.org/?p=281by Matt McDonald ‘How can it be’, I hear you yelling angrily. The air is getting colder, the days shorter and the feeling of rain turning to sleet throughout our cities is not welcome. It’s tempting to hide indoors and pack away the walking boots, vowing to bring them back out at the first hint of spring sunshine. But [...]

‘How can it be’, I hear you yelling angrily. The air is getting colder, the days shorter and the feeling of rain turning to sleet throughout our cities is not welcome. It’s tempting to hide indoors and pack away the walking boots, vowing to bring them back out at the first hint of spring sunshine. But wintery weather does not mean the end of the great outdoors. Quite the opposite, Scotland still has a lot to offer in winter. Sleet down low, means snow up high, and that to me is worth the wet feet on the walk home from work.

To me, snow means skiing, which is my favourite way to keep active through the winter months. For 4 years I have been a ski instructor, firstly throughout my time at university and then last year in Hokkaido, northern Japan.

In the search for new things to try in winter, about 18 months ago I decided to start ski touring. For those of you who’ve never heard of ski touring before, it’s when you walk up the hill on your skis (with sticky things on the bottom) and then ski back down. Whilst I’ve had some awesome touring experiences since, my first time sticks out for a number of reasons and it’s the one I’m going to talk about.

Braeriach over the Larig Ghru

The Cairngorm mountain range is home to some of the most stunning scenery in Scotland and on a good day (I promise they exist), looks exactly like the picture above. My brother Ali and I began our day’s touring trying to convince a man to let us on the funicular railway to near the top of Cairngorm Mountain. We failed. Instead, we trudged 1km upwards and then used a tow, finally and angrily getting to a similar height as the railway. We set off on the short tour to the top of Cairngorm mountain. The Scottish mountains are many things, including difficult to navigate and when you add snow, the challenge gets even trickier. It helps to have a brother who likes to look at maps, even when it might seem obvious where you’re going…

The beauty of touring is that you get to explore mountains with fresh, untouched snow, which is exactly what we found when we set off down the steep pitch into Corrie Raibert. Following this was one of the most stunning hikes (pictured below) I had ever been on, up towards the top of Scotland’s second highest Mountain, Ben Macdui.

Ali on the hike up to Ben MacDui.

Atop Ben Macdui we were treated with the stunning views over the Lairig Ghru and met 4 guys who had snowshoed up to the top. Their morale seemed to drop when we told them we would be back down in half an hour, when their walk would take about 4 hours! The ski off the top began gradual and wide open allowing for a fun ride down before a short climb back up found us our way home. As we took the turn down into the famous Lurchers gully the snow was starting to look thin. I knew there was a river hiding somewhere underneath this thin snow, so as the older and supposedly wisest brother, Ali went first to find out just how thin the snow was. When he survived, I agreed that it was safe, and set off after him down the gully, back to where we started.

Hiking along the plateau to Ben MacDui.

The winter wonderland of Scotland has so much to offer and this is my new favourite way of exploring it. Respecting and understanding the area you explore, means taking seriously the navigation and weather, but it doesn’t mean the exploring has to stop. The activities on offer in Scotland over the winter range from running in the city to winter walking in the Highlands. So basically, be safe, but get out and try something new. You never know, you might love it!

]]>https://madchallenges.org/itsthemostwonderfultime/feed/0281Offsetting the Office with Mountain Viewshttps://madchallenges.org/offsetting-the-office-with-mountain-views/
https://madchallenges.org/offsetting-the-office-with-mountain-views/#respondTue, 10 Oct 2017 13:43:55 +0000https://madchallenges.org/?p=137At MAD Challenges we love to walk, climb and explore. Being based in Scotland with so many incredible trails and mountains on our doorstep means an adventure is never far away! We also love to hear tales from other inspiring places around the world. Today, we share a guest blog from our friend and fellow adventurer Clare Mackie. Norwegian mountains [...]

]]>At MAD Challenges we love to walk, climb and explore. Being based in Scotland with so many incredible trails and mountains on our doorstep means an adventure is never far away! We also love to hear tales from other inspiring places around the world. Today, we share a guest blog from our friend and fellow adventurer Clare Mackie. Norwegian mountains and vistas await you…

For lots of people living in Scotland, a holiday is a chance to visit somewhere warmer and spend your days at the beach, sightseeing or enjoying local cuisine. For most people, hiking through the Norwegian mountains and camping along the way wouldn’t be much of a holiday at all!

But I guess I’m not most people. My love of the outdoors started at an early age, growing up in the far north of the Highlands. If you spend your teenage years 110 miles from the nearest cinema, you soon develop an appreciation for the outdoors! As an accountant I now spend far too much time sitting at an office desk working on spreadsheets, which is why my weekends are spent outside as much as possible – usually ticking off a few Munros (hills in Scotland over 3,000ft (914m) of which there are 282). On a good weekend I might even get a view! The idea of lying on a beach for a week doesn’t sound idyllic to me – as a typical pale Scot I burn pretty much instantly in the sun, so unsurprisingly I try to make holidays action packed.

For those of you still unconvinced of the merits of walking up Norwegian mountains when you could be lying next to the pool in Spain, the views more than make up for the effort…

At the Stortoppen summit (2,268m) of Snøhetta in Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park, Norway.

This summer we were incredibly lucky with the weather and managed to explore three of Norway’s national parks: Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella, Rondane and my personal favourite, Jotunheimen. The last of these translates as ‘the home of the giants’ and is home to Norway’s 29 highest mountains including the impressive Galdhøpiggen (2,469m) and the famous Besseggen ridge walk.

Near the highest point of the Besseggen ridge walk, one of Norway’s best hikes.

We live in an increasingly digital world that is almost unrecognisable from when I grew up less than 20 years ago. Added to that, I spend an unhealthy amount of time sitting in front of a computer screen each day at work. It may sound cheesy but I believe that spending time outdoors is good for both your physical and mental wellbeing.

Imagine the scene: total silence and all you can see in front of you is a vista of snow-capped peaks for miles and miles, extending all the way to the horizon. A view that has not changed significantly for thousands of years.

Some people’s ideal holidays include Mediterranean beaches. For me? A perfect adventure includes a map, a tent, and this perfect Jotunheimen view:

View across Jotunheimen National Park, near the summit of Surtningssue (2,368m).